Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) Raised to “Hold” at StockNews.com

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) was upgraded by StockNews.com from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report issued on Thursday.

A number of other analysts have also recently weighed in on NDAQ. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Nasdaq from $79.00 to $89.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Nasdaq from $88.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Raymond James raised their target price on Nasdaq from $83.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 9th. Citigroup upped their price target on Nasdaq from $78.00 to $84.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Nasdaq from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $80.00 to $98.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $86.88.

Nasdaq Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:NDAQ opened at $74.91 on Thursday. Nasdaq has a 1-year low of $58.10 and a 1-year high of $84.15. The firm has a market capitalization of $43.08 billion, a PE ratio of 39.02, a PEG ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 0.96. The business’s 50 day moving average is $79.12 and its 200-day moving average is $77.55. The company has a current ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81.

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $0.76 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.74 by $0.02. Nasdaq had a return on equity of 14.82% and a net margin of 15.10%. Sell-side analysts predict that Nasdaq will post 3.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other Nasdaq news, EVP Sarah Youngwood sold 14,959 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.68, for a total transaction of $1,102,179.12. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 59,694 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,398,253.92. The trade was a 20.04 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Bryan Everard Smith sold 3,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.56, for a total transaction of $285,460.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 55,576 shares in the company, valued at $4,532,778.56. This trade represents a 5.92 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Nasdaq

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Quest Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Nasdaq during the third quarter worth $124,000. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Nasdaq by 9.1% during the 3rd quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,466 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $326,000 after buying an additional 372 shares during the period. Swedbank AB grew its position in shares of Nasdaq by 13.3% during the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 46,053 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,362,000 after buying an additional 5,415 shares during the period. Independent Advisor Alliance bought a new stake in shares of Nasdaq in the 3rd quarter valued at about $249,000. Finally, DRW Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Nasdaq in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $263,000. Institutional investors own 72.47% of the company’s stock.

About Nasdaq

Nasdaq, Inc operates as a technology company that serves capital markets and other industries worldwide. It operates in three segments: Capital Access Platforms, Financial Technology, and Market Services. The Capital Access Platforms segment sells and distributes historical and real-time market data; and develops and licenses Nasdaq-branded indices and financial products.